Vancouver Home Sales Fall For The 4th Straight Month In July

Greater Vancouver's real estate market tanked in July as sales fell for the fourth straight month.

But industry reps say the sales represent more "typical levels."

Greater Vancouver home sales fell by 18.9 per cent year-over-year in July, from 3,978 to 3,226. That also represented a fall of 26.7 per cent from June, when 4,400 homes were sold, according to stats released Wednesday by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

Detached home sales fell for the second straight month on Vancouver's east side.

The area saw 117 detached home sales last month, the fewest there have been since January, when there were 99 sales.

These trends came amid a series of developments in B.C. real estate.

Last week, the provincial government announced a 15-per-cent property transfer tax on foreign buyers, which would see them pay an extra $150,000 in taxes on a $1-million purchase, in an effort to cool housing prices.

The tax triggered a flurry of activity before it came into effect on Tuesday.